Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-01-05
HIS TEN WIVES.
Mormonism illustrated by the Life
and Trial. Of Apostle Lorenzo
Snow.
CONTINUED from Dec. 25th.1

- ~FSA 49," VAANA "a -
the word Of God, divine in it's origin, true
in its teachings and specially revealed to
him, Joe Smith.
Having their plans and programmes thus
arranged, it was ip order for Joe to secure
another Revelation" It was not Ions
before it came. This time it was on q
larger and far o extensive scale. The
good Angel, who was apparently always
ready to act as courier for Jehovah to Joe
Smith, n day visited him and said:
"Your home field is not large enough. You
must move on"
Then Joe Smith, the prophet and after.
wards the Seer; Rigdon, the ex.preacher,
and Pratt, the whilom tin.peddler and
subsequent %debaucher, as preachers jour.
neyed to Kirkland. Ohio, leaving behind
very few Of the superstitious who had EN-.
braced the new faith of Mormonism.
The Church now grew apace. It increased
amazingly in numbers and ~pecuniary
their creed these Saints put into practi.
cal operation was the collection of .'tithes''
the one-tenth part of everything OF value
owned by the people, to be paid into the
Golfers of the Church, viz: to the schemine
leaders. There was and still is, however,
one article not limited to the one-tenth
1.-THE rule, namely. the women OF the tribe
or sect. Long before these exiled criminals
had been driven beyond the Missouri the
Church had inaugurated the practice oil
men taking in the name of God such and as
many manageable womsn as their lust
and british passions might dictate. And
by this practice they let loose among citi.
Gems Of this Republic the accursed
SYSTEM OF
that has SO long struck at the purity of
home and the sanctity of the family; that
has filled the fair land of Utah and other
Territories with faded faces, with withered
hearts and blasted hopes and aspirations:
that has flooded the community with
greater or lesser flocks of practical harlots
and turned loose, like cattle upon the
plains, for promiscuous breeding q COM
munity OF men and women branded with
bastardy, except where, by the mercy of a
magnanimous Government, the law has
granted a whitewashed legitimacy to the
children OF concubines, who were born be-
fore January l, 1883.
Let US hurry over the history oil the
Church" in Ohio, Missouri and Illinois,
only remarking that after "persecution for
opinions sake" as the Mormons termed
it, but "~punishment for crimes, committed
wherever these people had set foot" as the
loyal men OF the Nation and the world
termed it, the followers of Joe Smith, who
had now grown into thousands, faced west
ward and, during long and weary
months, plodded on towards the
sunset. These men were accom-
panied by wives, %coucubines, legiti.
mate and illeRitimate babies, animals,
household goods (oiten pushed along in
wheelbarrows), and led on by numbers OF
these designing. deceitful, pretended priests, |
q Palmyra edition of Gods word al
handy for reference.
Their journey across the "Great Ameri-
Desert" the trials, hardships and suf- |
[erings they encountered, ever now reflect a
halo OF credit and glory for the patience,
and courage that sust al ned them
until they reached the valley of Great Salt |
Lake in Utah, at that time pert of Mexico.
Here the wearied halted for rest, |
and at once began their scheme of erecting,
in the heart of another country, an empire,
king should be a pretended priest or
prophet of God, and whose supreme law
be the simple will of that priest and
his co~-workers. men who set themselves
above any laws, and promulgated for the
of society rules of murder, OF
reason and of promiscuous mingling that
N6"o"0y lOOOC q IuuIVlUuOo Vi
oastards and concubines upon a land
where to-day even incest is no crime!
Joe Smith found little difficulty in suit
ng his revelations and propLesies to his
for at a hint from him, Rig
iOnw would change the law of God already
out as a revealed ordinance, or add
'uch doctrines and injunctions as seemed
likely to win supporters. Did Joe's Angel
ell tina a new order of priestcraft was or
lained, Rigdon was there to put it on the
ecord. Did Joe Smith learn that his fol.
overs were scarce of female associates, a
private interview with the Angel
ecured the authority to institute as the
loly will OF God the doctrine of polygamy,
nth its lechery of plurality of women, for
he use OF any "saint;"and after once tried,
'oe Smith learned that sensuality was the
'eak point OF the Saints and Rigdon re-
orded lit as a cardinal tenet of the faith"
Among that aravan of travellers from
he lane OF Illinois and elsewhere east of
he Missouri river, whence crimes OF polyg-
my, treason and the like had enforced and
astened the Mormon fight,
WAS LORENZO SNOW,
Tho had already taken to his bed and
youthful strength seemed to demand,
laid the foundation for that marked
areer OF treason, hypocrisy .beastly lechery
nd the outrageous blasphemy told OF in
hese chapters. For the present let US pause )
ere, and the reader must remember that
he Mormons, at the period of which we
ast spoke, cay 1847, numbered thousands
pom thousands. They were established in
under the t%yrannical rule of a practi-
al king, whose word. claimed to be in
pired, was law; whose decree was life or !
cath; whose will had merged the civil into
he church or priestly rule, and subordin-
ted to church all questions and matters
1 state; whose proclamations were re-
arded as Gods command; who recognized
q superior tribunal and no appeal, and
tho. pandering to the beastly tastes of
he low and ignorant followers who came
t his nod and did his will, had set up in
he then dominions of the United States /
distinct hostile government, that recog-
lied only those laws of the United States
hat did not conflict with it's own. or with
ny new revelations promulgated by it's
espotic chief, or clash with any one OF it's
hristian doctrines-such doctrines, for ex-
nipple, as the marrying with from one to {
ineteen women, who were kept in rude and {
homes; as blood-atonement {
The Mormon word for assassination, 6
hereby innocent men and women were I
lied to save their souls from hell; as way
lying harmless emigrants Of all ages and ,
,xes, and ruthlessly slaughtering the men, /.
omen and children OF the train, and after :
ards coolly stealing and driving off their :
Jock and property, paying a tenth part :
leeeof to the holy church; all in the name =
I God! Such as %copspiring with one an !;
and with the red-handed savages OF :,
'e MIDLAND about them to poison springs :
nd thus, worse than by open murder. to
ssassinate the peaceable citizens of the g
eat Republic under whose flag they then
und and to-day find shelter and protec- '
u. .
Let it not be forgotten, too, that in all r
lis period one of the most active, earnest, II
alous workers in the ranks of these G
,ople, rising and promoted rapidly for his II
fanny, in Tie ranks of criminals, polyga-
lists and traitors to the Republic. was the a
an to whose remarkable career the atten. o
on Of the reader is now invited. v
SHOWS EARLY LIFE. II
In the small country village of Mantua, !.
ortage county, Ohio, on the Sd day OF y
pril, 1914, Lorenzo Snow was born. His ~
lrents were Oliver Snow and Rosetta L. u
Al az